The Endemic Flaxleaf

Habit: A perennial herb that may reach nearly 1 m in height. Stems: Erect, cylindrical and pruinose, covered with a thin whitish waxy bloom. Leaves: On the flowering stems, the leaves are narrowly lanceolate and arranged more or less on one side; on the sterile basal shoots they are shorter, linear to slightly elliptic, and much more densely crowded. Flowers: Borne in dense terminal racemes, with contiguous crowded flowers. Corolla typically bilabiate and provided with a basal spur 5-6 mm long. Colour usually deep violet, more rarely pink or white, total length 9-13 mm. A distinctive feature is the hairy palate closing the throat of the corolla. Fruits: A globose capsule about 3 mm across, containing trigonous seeds with a tuberculate surface. Flowering: March-October.

Chorological type: Italian endemic. Distribution: Endemic to central-southern Italy and Sicily. In some northern regions, including Great Britain abroad, it has been introduced and is sometimes naturalized. Habitat: It colonises cliffs, screes, embankments, roadsides, wasteland and woodland margins, up to 2000 m above sea level.

Generic name (Linaria): Derived from the Greek linon, “flax”. The term was chosen for the close resemblance between the leaves of this plant, before flowering, and those of cultivated flax, Linum usitatissimum. Specific name (purpurea): From the Latin purpureus, clearly referring to the violet-purple coloration of the flowers, which stands out against the surrounding vegetation.

Purple toadflax is highly appreciated in horticulture as an ornamental plant. Its popularity stems from the combination of remarkable hardiness, requiring very little water and tolerating poor soils, and a very long flowering period.

La linajola purpurea è molto apprezzata in ambito orticolo come pianta ornamentale. La sua popolarità è dovuta alla combinazione tra la straordinaria resistenza (richiede pochissima acqua e tollera terreni poveri) e il lungo periodo di fioritura.